Off the Radar
by babesrus2
Summary: Ranger is in the wind. Stephanie must step up to the plate. Can she accomplish her mission? An eventual Babe HEA.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Janet owns these amazing characters. I make no money, only enjoyment.**

The Test

For the last three minutes Stephanie had thunked her head against her desk. The Merry Men in the other cubicles were chuckling. What was she getting herself into now? Finally sighing in a resigned tone, she pushed back from her desk and stood up. Tank had left her a note saying she was due for a meeting in Conference Room C in ten minutes, and that was nine minutes ago. Today might not be a good time to be fashionably late!

Glaring at all the chuckling he-men, she moved down the hall. The door was open, a sign the meeting had not started yet. Sliding in, she noticed Tank with the door in hand, checking his watch. He glared at her and closed the door. Taking a seat with the other attendees, she tried not to fidget. Meetings were not her strong point.

Tank, having closed the door was striding to the front of the room. Quickly glancing around, Stephanie noticed that except for Tank and Bobby, everyone else was a new-hire. There was Eddie and Teddie (twins), Maurice, Terry and herself. She was starting to get a bad feeling. Tank tapped the table, which was quite unnecessary as everyone's eyes were locked on him. He flipped on the projector with his fob. In bold letters were the words, FINAL PROBATIONARY TEST. There were a few groans. Tank grinned an evil grin. Stephanie had only seen it a couple of times in all the time she had been at Rangeman. It usually preceded something he thought was fun. Stephanie had always believed Tank had a warped sense of humor.

Tank cleared his throat. "Men, and Lady, today is your final probationary test. Success will be evaluated on a number of things. Speed is not the only factor. Co-operation, planning, instinct, conditioning, and maybe a bit of luck will decide who continues as a member of Rangeman. Behind you are your packs. They are all identical. Each has your name on it. Everything necessary to successfully navigate the course is included in the pack. I will give the floor to Bobby. He was in charge of planning this little activity. All I can say is, have fun, be safe, and take advantage of all situations." With that, Tank strode to the door and out of the room. They could hear a faint chuckle as he walked away.

Bobby stood up. He was holding folders in his hands. Walking around the room, he handed a folder to each person. Asking them to flip them open, Bobby started. "Inside is a mission statement. Your job is to get from the starting point, collect the information needed at each checkpoint and complete your mission back at Rangeman. Your time-line is three days or less. We will have personnel checking your status at specific points along the route. There are watches in your pack. Everyone must put them on. They are tracker units. I cannot overstate the need for safety. Some of these exercises have an element of danger. You will work as a unit. If you are injured or cause danger to your comrades, you will be removed from the exercise.

This is to test your courage, your strength and your desire. We like to use these kind of exercises as team building training. Most of you have not worked with each other yet as you have been with trainers up until now. I have designed different aspects to accentuate each individual's strengths and to strengthen any weaknesses.

You may use the washrooms on the floor. You have five minutes to change and be back in the room. The time starts NOW!" There was a mad scramble for the backpacks. The first person there, Terry, called a name and tossed the pack. There was a mad rush for the door. Stephanie raced to the washroom and dumped the bag on the floor. Inside was a complete set of combat clothing. It appeared to be in her size. In a small backpack, she threw a compass, map, water bottle on a webbed belt, knife, matches, small first aid kit, lip balm, bug repellent, sunglasses, hair ties, and a baseball cap. Swiftly changing, she dumped her clothing into the big pack and raced back to the classroom. Everyone had changed and were now back in the room.

Bobby checked the time. "Excellent. " He ordered them to put their folders in the small pack on their back and leave the big pack beside them. "Any questions before we start this mission?" Bobby looked around. Nobody said anything. He motioned them to head out of the room and to the elevator. From the control room, there were calls of encouragement and some cat calls. The elevator stood open. They all crowded in and headed for the basement.

Manny, Cal, Hal, Zero and Junior were standing together in the garage. They were holding blindfolds. Bobby looked at the group. "Just to make it more interesting, you will all be blindfolded, and driven to your drop off spot. " With that, a Merry Man each went to one of the participants and proceeded to blindfold them. Junior had the pleasure of blindfolding Stephanie. He whispered that she would be OK and to have fun. They were led to a van and told to get in. The door closed and they were off.

Stephanie tried to concentrate on which way they were travelling. She knew Trenton like the back of her hand and recognized that they turned left out of the garage and right at the new construction. They travelled down the road, then all of a sudden they made a swift left, then another left. She could feel that the driver was changing directions to confuse them. After what felt like ten minutes of circles back and forth, they hit the highway.

By now, Stephanie had curled up into a ball and had fallen asleep. The van slowed and she woke up. It had turned onto a bumpy road and was travelling downhill going over small bridges, hills and around corners. Finally it stopped. The side door opened. Bobby spoke. "OK, take off your blindfolds and come on out." There was a quick pull and the blindfolds were in their hands. They had climbed out and with their packs were standing in a grove of trees. There were no discernible landmarks such as hills, power poles, lakes or roads. It was very quiet. Bobby stood in front of them. "OK, here is where you start. You have three days as I said. Good luck, and have fun!" With a laugh, he climbed back into the truck with Zero driving and drove off.

Everyone looked at each other. There was silence. After what seemed forever, one of the twins, Stephanie had no idea whom, said that they should sit down and process the file before starting. It sounded like a good idea. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Stephanie opened up her file. Inside were basic safety precautions, orders that they not accept rides from strangers or ask for directions. Looking further inside, she found compass co-ordinates, and a plastic pouch. Stephanie had no idea what was going on and looked at the other men. "Okay, it looks like a scavenger hunt with a difference. "


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: New characters are mine, mine, mine.**

Meeting the Men

Stephanie looked around. She could already see that this exercise was going to have some interesting interaction. Of the five men, Stephanie had only worked with Maurice. They had been paired on monitors for a shift late at night. Normally that shift was a slow killer for Stephanie. Nothing too exciting happened unless there was an alarm at a client's residence or business.

She had coerced some information out of him during their shift. She knew that he was a former SEAL who used to be afraid of water as a child. He had overcome his fear and had served in the Navy for fifteen years. He was an older new hire and had a calm demeanor about him. Stephanie had instantly felt at ease with him. Maurice was married and had a young son. He pulled out his wallet and showed her a picture of his wife and son. He told her their names were Naomi and Joel. Naomi looked about Stephanie's age and she hoped she would meet her soon. Her smile was gentle and she was holding their little boy in her arms. He looked to be about three. He had his father's eyes but his mother's facial features. They looked like a happy family.

He knew that she was involved with Ranger and without prying had asked her what he was like. Stephanie mentioned that hopefully he would meet Ranger in the very near future. He had been in the wind for four months now and had left a message with Tank that he was hoping to be home soon. She really missed him.

They had just chosen to work on a real relationship when he got the call. He had less than eight hours before he left and they had made the most of the time. They had locked themselves into his apartment on seven and nobody saw them until he left.

Terry spoke up."OK, here's what I get from the file. These co-ordinates will take us to the first checkpoint. I assume the plastic baggie is for something there. I'm also assuming that everyone knows compass reading, so let's saddle up and get moving. We probably have a long way to go before we can stop today."

He looked around. Everyone but Stephanie had their compass in their hands. Hers was conspicuously empty. His face quickly took on a look of contempt. Stephanie could already suspect that he would think that she was the token female and would have to be coddled along the way. Her spine stiffened. She may not be the true outdoorsy type, but she had other skills. She hoped that Bobby was not about to make her look completely helpless on this exercise.

They set off. The men set a strong pace and Stephanie had to speed up to match their step. She fell in beside Maurice. He patiently showed her how to read her compass and told her she would catch on quickly. It was easy to figure out once she was shown the basics.

They chatted along the way. Almost before she knew it, they had reached the first destination. Hanging in a tree was a duffle bag. Terry took it off the hook and opened it on the ground. Once again, they all sat down and perused the contents. Inside were power bars, water bottles and five tokens. Everyone took a token and put it into their plastic baggie. They filled the water canteens on their web belts. There were another five files. Each grabbed one and opened it.

Reading quickly, they noticed that there was another compass reading. This time, Teddie spoke up. He had a loud and booming voice. "Alright, everybody got the new reading?" There were four nods. Stephanie smiled at Maurice. She had figured it out quickly with the knowledge she now possessed. "I think that the first leg was the warm-up. Look around. The terrain is changing. Everyone take care on the trails. We don't need an injury this soon. "

Stephanie looked around. What had been grasslands was now changing to slight hills and rocky terrain. The sun was higher in the sky now and she put her hair in a ponytail and put on her baseball cap. Her sunglasses were already on her head and she pulled them down. They set off. The pace was a bit slower now due to the terrain. Teddie was leading. He checked back to make sure they were all following.

Stephanie fell in with Eddie this time. He was Teddie's identical twin. She introduced herself since they had not worked with each other before. Quickly she noticed that he was on the quiet side. She had grown up with identical twins in her childhood and knew that they were usually quite different personalities. While one would be subdued, the other would be loud. Eddie was obviously the quiet one. She found herself doing most of the talking, not a problem because she always felt that she talked enough for two.

Dragging out information, Stephanie found out that they were both former Rangers who had served with Ram. He had recommended them to Ranger. Tank and Les had interviewed them when they were looking to get out and had hired them. They had been out of the Army for only three months and after visiting their family in New Mexico had joined Rangeman in Trenton. They had only been employed for a month and really had not met anyone other than the core team. It was a Rangeman rule that new hires be paired with the core team members until their probation period was over.

Eddie had been paired with Bobby most of the time as he was a medic. Bobby was showing him the ropes and he was helping him to keep the infirmary running smoothly. Stephanie knew that Bobby was needing some time off. He was studying to be a doctor and his classes and interning schedule was getting very heavy. Rangeman was footing the bill and Bobby was at the top of his class. Stephanie knew that Ranger was hoping that eventually the future Dr. Bobby Brown would be in charge of all the medical facilities at all the Rangeman offices. Ranger was looking to the future and Bobby would be a very strong and vital part of the new Rangeman.

The walking became harder. They were now climbing hills. As Teddie had mentioned, the terrain was becoming more rocky. Stephanie slipped a couple of times. Her boots were excellent quality and she had lots of traction, but the rocks were slippery. She noticed a long stick by the trail. She picked it up and used it for balance. Along the way were more sticks. A number of the men also picked them up and the pace quickened. One refused to use any assistance. Coming down a particularly nasty incline, Terry lost his balance. He skidded down the hill and fell on the rocks. Instantly, Eddie took off to his side. Terry was holding his knee. He was grimacing in pain. His pant leg was ripped and there was blood oozing out the hole. Everyone stopped and watched as Eddie gently pressed around the knee. Terry grimaced in pain and gritted his teeth. Eddie was talking to him and continued his examination. "I think you hyper-extended your knee, Terry," Eddie said in his soft tone. He had taken his first aid kit out of his backpack. There was a tensor bandage in it and he expertly wrapped the knee.

Everyone stood around. Terry had refused to use a walking stick, and now he was hurting. He was helped to his feet by Eddie. "How does the knee feel? Do you think you can walk on it?" Terry grimaced a bit. He walked around. Looking around, he said. "It's gonna take more than this to make me quit. I should have sucked it up and taken a stick. Now I'm going to hold everyone back. My fault. I let my pride get in the way." Teddie clapped him on the back. "Could have happened to anyone, man. Do you want my stick? I can find another." With that, he held out his stick. Terry gratefully took it.

Teddie took the lead once again. "Let's move out. We need to get off these hills before dark. Slowly they moved down the hill. Their confident swaggers were gone. Now, everyone was concentrating fully on the task at hand. Stopping at intervals for Terry to rest, they reached the bottom of the rocky, hilly terrain. There was another duffle bag laying by the trail.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I am making no money, just enjoyment.**

Team Building Continues

Maurice dumped the contents on the ground. There were more water bottles, some food packs, and a couple of canned heat. There was a pot and five mugs. There was no cutlery, or plates. There was also another pouch with five tokens inside. Each person took a token and put it in the plastic baggies in their back pack. They also took a folder.

Maurice spoke, " I need two volunteers to start the meal. We don't have time to do everything individually here. We will have to start conserving our time. Who wants to cook?" Everyone looked at Stephanie. She put her hands up in horror. "Uh, guys, I can't cook. I'll help with something else, but if you value your lives, don't trust me with cooking!". The men looked at each other. Their faces showed that in a number of cases, they thought that was what she had come along for.

Stephanie glared back at them. This was a sure case of gender discrimination. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. She was preparing to go in full rhino mode. Maurice spoke. His voice had a strong tone of authority. "All right, listen up. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses on this team. Everyone by the end of this exercise will be doing things they never thought they could do. Stephanie will be taking her turn cooking. Terry, you cook and Stephanie watch. The rest of us will decipher the next directions. Any questions? Move out." With that, he signalled that Eddie and Teddie follow him to a spot away from the food.

Terry grimaced. He had been thinking all along that Stephanie had been sent along to clean up and cook. She looked pretty useless alongside the other members. He had heard rumors that she didn't even like to carry a weapon. Maybe she was the company ho. He would check her out later. He prided himself on his manly prowess. He wondered how quickly he could get her into the sack. He hoped she was a good lay.

He quickly set out the supplies. Asking Stephanie to light the canned heat, he poured two bottles of water into the pot and checked out the packages. Stephanie had one of the canned heat in her hand. She was reading the directions. Terry looked at her in amazement. "Haven't you ever used one of these things?, he asked. She shook her head no. "I was never a Girl Scout. I hated camping. I'll help you but you have to give me some direction here." Terry shook his head. Useless, she was totally useless.

Grabbing the canned heat from her, he reached into his back pack and pulled out a match. Striking it against the striker, he lit the match and put it to the wick. Placing it on a flat piece of ground, he put the pot with water on it. Stephanie was watching carefully. When the water began to boil he dumped in the packages. They began to swell and he opened them a little and let the steam escape.

Calling the guys over, he handed a package to each man. They sat down with their meals and began to eat. They all used their knives from their web belt. Stephanie followed their example. When there were no chunks of food left they squeezed the liquid contents into their mouths. While they were eating, one of the men had put some tea bags into the boiling water. Each person grabbed a metal cup and poured tea into it. They set it down beside them to cool. There was no milk and sugar.

Maurice spoke. "OK, it looks like the fun and games are about to begin. This time, in addition to a compass setting, we have been given a map. It looks like there will be a water exercise. I need to know now. Anybody unable to swim or afraid of the water? He looked around. Eddie put up his hand. "I almost drowned when I was five. Teddie pulled me out. I swim but I am afraid of water." Teddie punched his brother on the arm. "I'll be there to save you, little brother." Stephanie smiled at them. Teddie was older by 12 minutes. It sounded like he liked to portray the protector.

Quickly cleaning up, they divided up the cooking utensils among the five packs. Maurice took the duffle bag with him. That made two. Teddie had grabbed the first bag. On an exercise like this, you never knew when you might need something like this. Terry's knee had stiffened up when they stopped. He gingerly got to his feet. He would walk off the stiffness. Taking the lead, Maurice headed out. With compass in hand and map at the ready, they started off. The sun was starting to lose some strength. They needed to get to their next checkpoint before dark, find shelter and get ready for the night.

Stephanie was now walking by Terry. She had already started to have bad vibes from him and his next remark confirmed her suspicions. "So Baby, when we settle down for the night, you might need a bed mate to chase away all the scary monsters out here. I can keep you safe." He grinned a lecherous smile and sidled up to her. Stephanie mentally shuddered. This guy was going to be a problem, she could just tell. "I don't need help to keep away the monsters unless it is you. Actually, I can look after myself pretty well, Terry. I warn you. Stay away from me or risk the consequences."

With that, she left his side and made her way up to Teddie and Eddie. He shrugged. If she wanted to play hard to get, then the game would get more interesting. He smiled as he limped along. He thought that later on he might be needing a nurse to help him. He could think of nobody better than the cute chick.

**Normally they would have been carrying freeze dried or dehydrated meals in pouches. Since they had no access to water other than the drop offs, I gave them food pouches already hydrated but needing to be heated up. Myrna**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Just borrowing them, Janet.**

Wet is Wet

Miles later they came to a fast flowing stream. It was early summer and the spring run-off was in full force. The banks were steep and the water fast. Stopping to consider how best to cross the stream, they spied a duffle hanging in a tree. Maurice took it down and looked inside it. There was a long length of rope coiled inside the bag. Taking it out, he tied one end to a tree. He tied the other end around himself. "OK, I'll wade across and tie it to another tree across this water. When I have it ready, come across one at a time holding the line. If something happens and I slip, grab the line.

He gave his pack to the person next in line, Stephanie. Gingerly he slid down the bank and entered the water. He was a large and muscular man. The current was very strong and he was having trouble keeping his footing. Almost losing his balance a number of times, he slowly crossed and scrambled up the far bank. Quickly tying off the line, he motioned for them to come across.

Stephanie was first. She had put her arms through Maurice's pack backwards so that it sat in front of her. She grabbed the line and slid down the bank. Stepping into the water, she was almost sucked away. Holding very tightly she slowly crossed the stream. Clamoring up the bank, she handed Maurice his pack. They fist-pumped. Next was Eddie. Even across the other side, Maurice and Stephanie could see the terror in his eyes. He set his mouth firmly and moved down the bank. He had a firm hold on the rope. Stepping into the water, he slowly moved across. Suddenly his feet flew out from under him. His head went under water. Everyone held their breath. Eddie surfaced sputtering. He slowly got to his feet and continued on. Reaching the other side, he also scrambled up the bank. Maurice and Stephanie fist bumped him. He sat on the ground and rubbed his face with his hand. He shuddered. Stephanie squatted down and looked him in the eye. "Proud of you," she said softly. He smiled.

Terry was next. He gingerly sat on the ground and slid down the bank. He had hold of the line and slowly walked through the water to the other side. He crawled up the bank. He also received fist bumps from Maurice, Stephanie and Eddie. Last was Teddie. He grabbed the line and slid down the bank. He stepped into the water and walked carefully to the other side. Pulling himself up the bank with the use of the rope he also accepted fist bumps from everyone.

Quickly they continued. The sun was getting lower. They had to find their next checkpoint. It was going to be dark soon. Taking few breaks they travelling as fast as they could to the next rendevous. Finally, just as it was getting dark, they came to a grove of trees. There was another duffle bag.

Teddie took the bag down. He dumped the contents on the ground. Inside were blankets, shelter halves, more food, water, folders and tokens. This time, everyone grabbed a shelter half and a blanket. They would read later. First they had to get their campsite set up before nightfall. Teddie had scraped the ground of vegetation with his boot. It was close enough to the grove of trees to provide fuel for the fire, but far enough to keep sparks from erupting a forest fire.

Everyone spread out finding dried grass, small twigs and branches to start the fire. Eddie spied some small rocks close by and made a circle of rocks in the cleared earth. Teddie already had the dried grasses in small tight circles in the middle of the stones. He lit the grass with one of the matches in his pack. Blowing gently he soon had a small fire started. Adding tiny twigs slowly he built the fire up. He had taken the file folders in his pack and had ripped them into small thin slices. He fed them into the fire slowly. Meanwhile, Stephanie had found armloads of branches and deposited them by Teddie. He was breaking them up and feeding the fire. Pretty soon, there was a nice fire flickering in the ever darkening night.

Stephanie noticed that this time there was no additional canned heat provided. She looked at Teddie. He pointed to two of the branches she had found. They were about two feet tall and had a Y. He pushed them into the ground on each side of the fire outside the stones. He took the pot and strung a sturdy branch through the handle. He then put one end of branch on one Y and the other end on the other Y. The pot hung over the fire. Pouring in two bottles of water, he watched the water heat up. He took the food packets and put them in the boiling water, watching it carefully. Once again, when the packages started to swell, he opened the tops slightly.

Sitting down, everyone grabbed a meal package and commenced eating. Stephanie lamented silently that there were no chocolate bars, cake or other delicious desserts. She longed for a s'more. Once again, there was tea to drink. It was nice and hot. She sighed and leaned against Maurice. His broad strong back made an excellent back rest.

Teddie cleared his throat. "Let's get some sleep. It's been a long day and it will be even longer tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I promise to give them back, Janet.**

Night Challenges

Tank and Bobby sat in Tank's office. They had just been appraised of the adventures of the Probies. Ram had reported the episode on the hill. Manny had observed the water crossing. Junior was now in position. He would contact them in the morning with his observations.

Junior was in one of the trees in the grove with night vision goggles. He was close enough that he could hear the heated exchange between Stephanie and Terry in the middle of the night. It sounded like Stephanie had held her own until the other members of the team came to her rescue. He figured that he would be escorting someone back to Rangeman and he would no longer be employed there. Nobody hurt the Bomber and lived to tell the tale. He made himself more comfortable in the crook of the tree and relaxed. It would be a long night.

Stephanie had gone to sleep after the long day. Her feet hurt, and her butt now hurt from the hard ground. Groaning softly, she turned over in her blanket to get more comfortable. All of a sudden she felt a presence just before someone slid in beside her. She tensed. A soft whisper came from the person. She had an idea who it was. Terry tried to wrap her in his arms. He tried to kiss her on her neck. Quick as a wink, she elbowed him in the ribs, and kicked backwards hitting Terry in his sore knee. He howled in pain. He hurled an expletive at her and tried to put his hand over her mouth. By now she had her knee heading for his privates and his eyes went back into his head. The others had jumped up and were now dragging Terry away from Stephanie. She was standing holding the blanket around herself.

Maurice and Eddie dragged Terry over to a tree. They used the rope from the duffle bags and tied him up and secured him to a tree. After checking that Stephanie was OK, Teddie joined the others. They silently rock, paper, scissored for first watch on Terry. Eddie won and sat down watching him. He would have first shift. The others went over to Stephanie. Unsure whether to give her a hug or just stand there, Stephanie smiled and came over to give each of them a hug. They congratulated her on her reflexes and told her they had heard rumors of her legendary knee. They all had a chuckle as she blushed.

Asking if she was OK to go back to sleep, Stephanie nodded. It had been a long day and after figuring out what to do with Terry, they had to make tracks to get to the objective in time. Not knowing that Junior was close, they headed back to bed. Stephanie didn't even hear as the others changed shifts through the night guarding their prisoner.

Waking up in the morning feeling refreshed but stiff, she rolled out of her blanket. Maurice was now watching Terry. They were glaring daggers at each other. Stephanie walked into the grove to take care of business. On her way out, she noticed Junior in the tree. He smiled and waved a finger at her. Climbing down, he hugged her and asked if she was OK. She smiled and asked if he had heard or seen anything. She figured by the quick tightening of his mouth that he was privy to the whole episode.

He walked with her to the encampment. The others jumped, startled by the appearance of a Rangeman. He phoned the control room and asked to speak to Bobby or Tank. Tank answered. Junior explained the situation and had each of the men tell their side of the story. He then turned to Stephanie. She did the same leaving out no details but also speaking of the conversation from the past afternoon. The three men's eyes hardened. They looked over at Terry. Junior stepped closer to him. "He will be taken care of at Rangeman, don't worry about that. Nobody hurts the Bomber. By the time you get back, he will be long gone and I suspect that he will never work in a security setting again." Stephanie sidled up to Junior. "Don't kill him." Terry heard her speak and his face became very pale.

With that, he untied Terry from the tree, handcuffed and shackled him and walked him away around the grove of trees. They heard an ATV start up. Hoping that Terry had a very bumpy ride on the hard metal at the back all the way to a road, they prepared for the day. Since they were down to four now, it meant more work for everyone. They quickly ate breakfast and divided up the extra backpack. Their packs were now getting a bit crowded with a blanket and shelter half each, cooking pot, one useable canned heat, two bottles of water each, plus what they had carried in. Added to it now was Terry's gear. Keeping to the Pack It In, Pack It Out Rule, they divided his gear amongst themselves. They cleaned up the campsite and returned the rocks to the pile they had taken them from.

Sitting down, they each took a token and put them in their baggies. They had been in such a hurry the night before they had not taken the time to divide them up. Looking at the new directions, they set off. Teddie was now in the lead. With Terry not holding them up they made fast time. Up and down hills, through tall grassy meadows they came to a wall of rock. There was a new duffle bag hanging on a peg. Eddie took down the bag and once again it was dumped on the ground. There was a new map, more compass co-ordinates, more food and water, four tokens, and caribiners, anchors and pitons. There were four sets of gloves and four climbing hammers. There was a long coil of rope and four bags of chalk. There were also four helmets.

Stephanie smiled. She loved to climb. Every available weekend in college she and her climbing club would take off for another mountain to climb. She knew how to lead, bring up the rear, free climb, and use ropes. This was going to be fun. She looked at the others. Maurice was looking at the wall. His brow was furrowed. Being a Seal he felt so out of sync right now. This was the absolute opposite what a Seal did. Eddie and Teddy were little better. They had done some climbing in Rangers but had been stationed where there were no mountains to scale. They had had the rudimentary training that Rangers learn but this would be quite a learning experience for them all.

Stephanie stepped up. In a voice full of confidence she explained what was going to happen. Since she had the most experience, she would lead. Taking the pitons, anchors, the caribiners and a hammer, she put them on her belt. She tied the chalk bag to a strap. Then taking the rope, she attached each of them to another. She gave a quick safety demonstration and an overview of her plan to scale the cliff. She reminded them that if someone lost their footing, the others would have to hold that person until they could regain their balance.

Asking if there were any questions and not hearing any, she turned around and looked at the cliff. Mentally she scaled the wall of rock. If she had been alone or with other expert climbers they probably would have free climbed, but with newbies, she would not take the chance and use gear. Quickly she free climbed about ten feet up. Taking her first anchor from her belt and her hammer, she nailed it into the rock. She attached her caribiner, threaded the rope through and slowly climbed higher. She alternated between anchors and pitons.

Spacing themselves as per her instructions, the others prepared to follow. Slowly they maneuvered their way up the wall. Finally, Stephanie reached the top and pulled herself up to stand on the top. Slowly everyone else joined her. They fist bumped each other. There were smiles all around. Everyone stopped to take a water break while taking a few minutes to enjoy the scenery.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I love your imagination Janet.**

The Final Push

Time was ticking and they had some distance to go. Looking from the top of the cliff, they couldn't see Trenton in the far distance, but they knew it was there. They were getting close. Sitting down, they co-ordinated with their compasses, and read over the instructions. Imagine their surprise when they were heading away from Trenton! It looked like their adventures would continue.

Feeling strangely empowered, they all raced along the trail set for their next test. Coming to another grove of trees, they pulled up. There sat a house nestled in the trees. Cautiously they approached the house. This seemed way too easy.

Everyone walked carefully. There could be trip wires, or traps to catch the unsuspecting. Spying a trip wire, Teddie motioned to stop. He knelt down and taking his knife out, gently lifted the wire and followed it along to the end. There was a smoke grenade with the line tied to the pin. Carefully stepping over the line, they continued.

Eddie spotted the next hazard, a stun grenade propped against a tree. Everyone's nerves were now on edge. Stephanie now followed the other three. Between the Seal and the Rangers, she felt certain that the dangers would be detected. Finally, they reached the house. Checking around the house carefully, they noticed that there were wires to both doors and the porch was also wired.

That left a tiny window on the side of the house. The three men looked at Stephanie. She was certainly small enough to get through the window and if they lifted her up she could squirm through. Opening the window carefully, they listened for anything that would endanger her inside. It was very dark inside. Lifting her up, they positioned her for a quick slide into the house. Stephanie slid through and landed on the floor.

She crouched down then slowly made her way further into the room. Sitting on a chair in the corner was a duffle bag. What was more interesting was a wire attached to the duffle and hooked to an alarm clock. If the duffle was lifted or moved without disengaging the wire, something would happen. "Uh Guys, we might have a problem here."

They crowded around the window. Teddie had her describe the situation. He nodded as she told him about the wire to the duffle and the clock. "OK, Steph, look under the chair. Is there anything attached to the chair or on the floor?" Stephanie got down on her hands and knees. She peeked under the chair. Attached was another stun grenade, or a flash bang as she had heard them called. She yelled out, "Teddie, there appears to be some kind of grenade tied under the chair. I can't lift the duffle off the chair without disturbing it. And, uh, the clock is running down. It says two minutes, thirty seconds."

Teddie blanched. He was too big to go in and help to defuse the unit. He would have to talk her through it. Carefully, he asked her to describe it again. "OK, here's how we are going to do it. Take your knife out. You have two wires, blue and red. Confirm that one wire is attached to the back of the clock and one is attached to the grenade. Correct?" He was visibly sweating now.

Eddie stood by. Maurice had left the group to check around the house to see if there was anyway they could enter. Stephanie called out, "Yes Teddie, that is correct. What do I do now? We need this duffle. If I just grabbed it and threw it out the window, do you think I would get it to you in time?" The twins looked at each other. This was going way over a friendly exercise. She sounded like she was offering her life or serious injury for the group to keep going. Teddie spoke urgently. "Steph, honey, we can do this and hopefully nobody gets hurt. As I said we have to figure out which wire to cut. How much time does the clock say now?" Stephanie looked at the hands. "We are down to a minute, guys. We have to make a decision soon."

Maurice came around the house. He shook his head at the twins. Stephanie would have to defuse it. Teddie steeled himself. He could do this. He had the training. He looked at his brother. Eddie nodded his head. He had his back whatever happened. Teddie looked at Maurice. He nodded. He had complete faith in Teddie's bomb defusing abilities. "OK Steph. I think that it is a simple case of cutting one wire. We have the blue and the red. Take the blue wire and cut it." Stephanie said a silent prayer and took the blue wire in her hand. She was holding her knife ready to cut it, when Teddie yelled, "STOP". Stephanie froze. Teddie said, "No, cut the red wire, Stephanie, cut it now. You don't have much time."

Stephanie swiftly dropped the blue wire and grabbed the red wire. She shut her eyes and sliced it in half. The clock stopped ticking down the seconds and all was quiet. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Stephanie quickly grabbed the bag and tossed it out the window. She climbed out of the window and landed on the ground. Quickly they moved back into the trees. Practically doubling over in relief, they fist bumped once again. Moving away from the clearing, they sat in a little patch of grass. Opening the duffle, Stephanie dumped out the contents. There were more bottles of water and some power bars. They refilled their canteens. There were four tokens. Each took a minute to take a token and put it in their plastic baggies. There was only one file folder. Inside was a single sheet of paper. It had a set of compass co-ordinates on it. There was no further note or instruction. Quickly taking leave of the place they headed out. Carefully they watched for more surprises on the trail.

Tank and Bobby were keeping tabs on them. Cal had reported in with the report of the cliff scaling. Zero had just called in with the report on the house invasion. They were getting close to home. Hopefully they would be back before nightfall.

The four comrades made swift work of getting out of the forest. Even they could see that they were on the way home. While they were anxious to return for a hot shower, meal and a soft bed, unconsciously they slowed their pace. They still had some time before they were due to return. Looking at each other, they nodded. They were developing their own ESP.

Finding an abandoned clearing overlooking the edge of Trenton, they stopped. Once again, they gathered round and set up camp. They pulled all the stuff out of the backpacks. There was enough food and water for one more meal. Efficiently they set up their camp, and made a meal. Eating together, they laughed and joked. They were all looking a bit dirty, ragged and very in need of a shower. Stephanie's hair had taken on a life of its own. Maurice had chalk marks over his face. Eddie and Teddie were still smeared with mud from the stream.

They retold their trip from their perspective. Each of them had conquered a weakness and they all felt stronger for it. They were ready to take on the responsibilities as a Rangeman employee. Laughing, they cleaned up. Walking together they headed to their last checkpoint.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: See Janet, not even mussed up.**

Coming Home

Marching up to the main door of Rangeman, they walked in. Bobby, Tank, Junior, Manny, Zero, Cal and Hal were waiting. Many backslaps later, they moved to the Conference Room. Inside the room were most of the off duty Merry Men.

Ella had loaded the table down with all kinds of food, desserts and pitchers of drinks. Bobby cleared his throat. There was instant silence. He looked at the bedraggled but proud comrades. "Today, we welcome four new employees to the Rangeman family. Everyone knows that our Bomber has been around for quite awhile, but she only committed to working here full-time about a month ago, so we classed her as a new-hire for this exercise. We have been keeping track of you, as you well know from the unfortunate episode. I can assure you that employee is no longer a member of Rangeman. No, Bomber, we didn't kill him, but we had to post a double guard to keep him safe from the team." Bobby smiled at Stephanie.

Bobby continued. "I am proud to advise everyone that you have passed your final condition of employment. Tank will be contacting you with your new schedules and your new partners. Well done, Rangemen." With that, the group were engulfed with hugs for Stephanie, back slaps and handshakes for the other three.

Tank tugged Stephanie to his broad chest. "You did very well, Baby Girl. I knew you could do it. I thought I would let you know that Ranger is up on 7. I just met him at the helipad on the roof." Stephanie stifled a sob. Thanking Tank, and quickly hugging Bobby, she ran out of the room. Cal had the elevator open. He winked at her. She jumped in and the elevator rose. Stepping out, she knocked softly on the door. She didn't have her fob. Ranger opened the door. He looked at her in her dusty and dirty combat. He looked at her face. He grabbed her and dragged her into the apartment and closed the door. The lock turned.

Ranger held her tightly to his chest. Stephanie was crying so hard she was shaking. Her man had returned. He picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. He started to unbutton her combat shirt. She started to unbutton his combat shirt. They moved in a slow dance to the shower. Ranger reached in and turned on the water. He carried her into the enclosure. The door closed. Their silhouettes came together. They were home.

**Hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are always appreciated. Myrna**


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